Monthly Archives: January 2016

Well, it had to happen eventually. You work hard enough and eventually good things are bound to happen. In our case, we have been fighting for weeks to close deals, and as we have reported, we have come close, but not enough.

This week I am happy to report we closed not one, nor two, but wait for it….three! deals. The first one was real exciting, because it is a real big chain that we have been after for a while and that believed in us. One of my partners has been after it for a while, and she found a way to do it after a nerve-wrecking presentation with me (as always) annoying people. It is not my intention, but I am just trying to have fun while we work! Anyway, done deal and we were thrilled. Needless to say, I don’t think I will be going on presentations anytime soon with her.

The second deal was huge for us, as we will be working with a company that will really help us explore our abilities and we will help them grow exponentially I assure you. We will become partners and we will look after their best interests as if is was our own. These are quality people who I see are honest and hardworking. We will quickly expand in various territories and grow along with them. We are very proud and humbled to see that they believed in us.

The third one is a smaller deal but equally rewarding because another one of our partners has been trying for four weeks to close deals with these type of customers, and they say yes, but he has not been able to close them! He was getting frustrated and upset, so after a week of a lot of positive news he was able to boldly declare, deal done!

What a week and we are grateful our clients believe in us and trust us with their business. Maybe I won’t go broke after all. If you remember, we talked about deals coming to close at the same time after a dry period. We were just talking about the ledge a couple of weeks ago. Well, we held on and we are still here. Not out of the woods yet, but certainly very positive outlook

Like this:

Well, I finally see deals materializing. That was not that hard right? It only took us 6 months. Now we have to make them work and we have to make sure we can keep up with them. We will be very busy the next 6 months figuring out how we will improve our company and working hard, while wearing multiple hats, to survive as a business,

It is such a cool thing to see you struggling and then to realize that, as we said before and kind of a sadistic approach, it will get worse before it gets better. I love the fact that we are making mistakes and we are learning from them, as well, as the notion that sometimes when we feel there is no tomorrow, there always is!

The roller coaster ride continues and we are fully enjoying it. We are so pumped and so depressed at the same time it is hard to describe, I guess you would call it “pumpessed” It is great and I love to face the new challenges that this new company brings us. It is like a race against the clock. We all know that 80 percent of all new business crash in the first 18 months, well 6 down and 12 to go. We are on our way to crashing by the way, but you don’t see me worrying, why? Because a new business can have a company changing event any day (good or bad) , so its about the focus and attitude, as well as the drive and vision.

We are so Pumpessed it’s not even funny, we are crying all the way to success if you ask me, and we are loving every down and up that this ride has to offer. You probably could not find a happier time in my life, when I worried so little about other things. I am focused on my marriage, my kids, my work, my school and whatever else comes along, then I deal with it.

Like this:

Well, as you know and we have talked about for several weeks, the waiting game is hard and long. But every once in a while you see light at the end of the tunnel and you know it is that dreaded word…hope. As my friend Red said in Shawshank Redemption, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of all things”. In this case hope was turned into a cruel joke.

We were so close and we did not get it, but then we knew that it was not going to be easy. I told my partners that as an entrepreneur you know there is a ledge and a cliff with a long way down. You know you walk every day toward that cliff, and you know that you are moving closer to that free fall. You also know, that it will get worse before it gets better and you have to be brave enough to allow your teeth to get kicked in and your hopes to be tested.

As we walk to the ledge we have to realize that there will be more hopes and teeth-clashing before the inevitable happens, you either go off the cliff or you manage, just like in the movies, to hold on and survive. As dramatic as it seems, it is a cruel and real exercise. Your faith will be tested and so will your confidence. I am prepared to go blindly into the cliff if I have to before I give up on anything.

Part of being an entrepreneur is developing thick skin; well, we are going to need it. Let’s keep it positive and let’s continue on this adventure together.

Like this:

As most of you know, the holidays are relax time for most of us. Then like magic, one day we realize that the goofing off is over and we switch up the “get-your-butt-to-work button” and all of a sudden we are running at high rates of speed. What an emotional shocker!

I need to share with you that this week has been extremely busy and I am so glad that tomorrow is Thursday because I am drained! It has been non-stop for 3 days and I expect a busy one tomorrow as well. The life of an entrepreneur is full of ups and downs and I am very proud of my partners, because they have taken the heat like true champs and are smiling and enthusiastic. We are starting to close deals quickly already and I am excited to see what every day brings!

I have not had a lot of time for my kids and not a lot of time for my wife. We are both adjusting to our new activities and living broke. It is not as bad as you would think when there is a common understanding of why we are doing this. I think it takes an exceptional person to sacrifice all the material things to see their loved ones happy, and I truly felt all entrepreneurs needs a balance loved one in their lives. I know I am lucky enough to share my life with my wife and partner.

I invite you to share your adventures with you loved ones. They truly love you for who you are and not what you have . It is how you live in adversity that your kids will remember the most. I was touched this week by the tribute Stuart Scott’s daughter paid to their father who fought cancer. According to them, he beat cancer because he lived a full life and on how he faced cancer. Great teaching from a father who is about to depart. I think similarly for challenges, whether you win big, small or lose, you have to play the game with ethics, passion and a whole lotta love!